Pub. Date: September 8th, 2013
Publisher: Flux
229 pages
Paperback
From the first page of The
Truth About You & Me you make assumptions. Freshman college class –
must be 18; Biology – must be fairly smart. As readers we play into exactly the
kind of assumptions Bennett – her Biology instructor – would make when Madelyn
walks into his classroom. But Maddie is 16, and she makes some really stupid
decisions. Brought together by their mutual love for hiking, Madelyn’s classroom
crush is not rejected by Bennett like you would expect, but encouraged. Written
as an apology and explanation to Bennett through a letter, The Truth About You & Me tells Madelyn’s version of the
relationship and it is only as truthful and honest as you believe a character that
knowingly deceives someone she claims she loves, for months.
I truly expected that Madelyn would learn a heck of a lot
after everything she puts Bennett through. But with the majority of the novel being
comprised of a single letter, written almost immediately after the foreseeable
end to the doomed relationship, we get very little perspective after the fact.
I wanted more growth, and I wanted Madelyn to redeem herself in some way.
Instead we get a Madelyn reeling over a lost relationship, justifying her
actions. While it’s clear that Madelyn is sorry she hurt Bennett, it’s not
clear if she learned a single thing from the experience, and I strongly
disliked her for it. I felt extremely sorry for Bennett. He did knowing spend a
lot of time with a student, and planned a relationship with her after he was no
longer her teacher, but he was kept in the dark about her real age and I felt
incensed for him. Bennett comes off as genuine and as likeable as a teacher who
has a relationship with a student can be, which made my dislike for Madelyn stronger.
